The research activities of the Academic Center mainly consist of the following aspects:
- Research services; i.e. services, information provision, facilities for researchers in the area.
- The Academic Center's own research project .
- Sold out research and consultancy work of the staff of the Academic Center.
- Research projects carried out in collaboration with university students.
- Development and research projects in collaboration with other institutions.
Research services
According to the charter and agreement with the Ministry of Culture, the Academic Center has the role of providing scientific and scholarly work in Þingeyjarsýsla. Thus, emphasis is placed on hosting researchers and assisting those who conduct research in Þingeyjarsýsla in various ways. Such services are provided through access to housing, equipment and networks of the Academic Center, in addition to which advice is provided in a formal and informal manner during research work.
This research service is provided by various sources, the following preferably:
- Research staff,
- researchers on behalf of universities in Iceland,
- students in research projects,
- independent researchers (Icelandic and foreign).
The Academic Center's own project
According to an agreement with the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture and the charter, the knowledge network has certain obligations to initiate research and development work in the district. In this way, an attempt is made to acquire knowledge of the community or environment in the district through research work and participation in various development projects.
These projects are mostly national and deal with issues within the district, ie. the area of operation of the Academic Center. The specialization of the Academic Center in its own initiatives is the area; i.e. both the community and the environment of the work area. Thus, the approach is based on interdisciplinary criteria based on specialization in the area rather than individual disciplines. From the beginning, however, the Academic Center has been involved to a considerable extent in initiative projects related to a practical and regional approach.
Increasingly, the Academic Center has been involved and has been an active participant in foreign/international research and development projects. These projects are almost always based on co - operation between numerous institutions and companies and are in most cases based on a Nordic or European basis.
Sold out research and consultancy work
The sale of specialist work is always part of the work carried out by the Academic Center's research division. There are usually service applications and information gathering for municipalities or in collaboration with them. For several years, however, the Academic Center has carried out large-scale monitoring projects for Landsvirkjun and other parties, ie. the so-called "Sustainability Project in the North" which has been given the name "Gaumur". This project has an independent website where the results of community and environmental monitoring are published: www.gaumur.is.
University student research project
Every year, the Academic Center places emphasis on conducting temporary research projects for university students. These projects are mostly financed from a project fund managed by the Academic Center, which is financed by the municipalities in Þingeyjarsýsla. Every year since the establishment of the Academic Center, the institute has usually held such projects between 3-5 in the summer. The aim of these projects is twofold in principle, i.e. on the one hand, introduce local research work to young students from the area and create employment, but on the other hand, create a platform for practical research that can have a positive effect on the strengthening of communities.
On the website you can find all the published material of the Academic Center, where you can access most of the research that the institute has published.
